Apparatus for weighing and segregating sliced bacon from a slicing machine

ABSTRACT

A slicing machine includes a feeder for feeding a bacon belly into a continuously rotating slicing blade thereby forming slices of bacon which are deposited in shingled fashion on a continuously moving conveyor supported on a scale. When a prescribed weight of the shingled bacon is registered by the bacon weigh scale a signal is fed back to the feeder to momentarily stop the advance of the bacon belly and consequently the formation of bacon slices. This interruption segregates one shingled bacon group or draft from the next for subsequent processing and packaging. In order to achieve a more uniform slice count per 1 pound package, regardless of cross-sectional size of belly, sliced thickness is altered by sensing the crosssectional size of the bacon bellies at the time and during slicing. An interposed check weigher scale supports a conveyor which receives each draft of shingled bacon slices initially weighed by the bacon weigher scale. Should the weight of this draft be above or below the prescribed weight, a signal is fed back to a servo motor which automatically changes the set point for the bacon weigher scale. The check weigher scale also generates a signal for a reject conveyor which receives the draft of sliced bacon transferred by the check weigher conveyor. Drafts within the prescribed weight tolerance are accepted and transferred to the packaging station by a take away conveyor. An automatic cardboard dispenser is interposed between the reject conveyor and the check weigher conveyor for placing each weighted draft on a card.

United States Patent Divan APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING AND SEGREGATING SLICED BACON FROM A SLICING MACHINE [75] Inventor: William J. Divan, Centerport, NY.

[73] Assignee: Cashin Systems Corp., Williston Park, N.Y.

[22] Filed: Oct. 10, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 405,087

Primary Examiner-Willie G. Abercrombie Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Kane, Dalsimer, Kane, Sullivan and Kurucz [5 7 ABSTRACT A slicing machine includes a feeder for feeding a bacon belly into a continuously rotating slicing blade i451 'Nov. 12, 1974 thereby forming slices of bacon which are deposited in shingled fashion on a continuously moving conveyor supported on a scale. When a prescribed weight of the shingled bacon is registered by the bacon weigh scale a signal is fed back to the feeder to momentarily stop the advance of the bacon belly and consequently the formation of bacon slices. This interruption segregates one shingled bacon group or draft from the next for subsequent processing and packaging. In order to achieve a more uniform slice count per 1 pound package, regardless of cross-sectional size of belly, sliced thickness is altered by sensing the cross-sectional size of the bacon bellies at the time and during slicing. An interposed check weigher scale supports a conveyor which receives each draft of shingled bacon slices initially weighed by the bacon weigher scale. Should the weight of this draft be above or below the prescribed weight, a signal is fed back to a servo motor which automatically changes the set point for the bacon weigher scale. The check weigher'scale also generates a signal for a reject conveyor which receives the draft of sliced bacon transferred by the check weigher eonveyor. Drafts within the prescribed weight tolerance are accepted and transferred to the packaging station by a take away conveyor. An automatic cardboard dispenser is interposed between the reject conveyor and the check weigher conveyor for placing each weighted draft-on a card.

20 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures I l I l I smn 10? 4 3'846557 PAIENTEDnnv 12 m4 QQQRS U Qmml kvsskms 1 PATENTEUNUV 12 I974 SHEEI 20$ 4 APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING AND SEGREGATING SLICED BACON FROM A SLICING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I its operation and efficiency in an effort to further re- I duce give-away weights of bacon being sliced and minimize the time attendant personnel are required to expend in making proper weights of drafts not within the prescribed weight tolerances.

In a number of packing, plants, relatively poor grading of bacon bellies is accomplished forone reason or another. In this case, the cross-sectional size of bellies varies greatly; and the range of slices making up a pound of product, could vary as much as ten or more slices when processing drafts sliced from thick bellies or thin bellies. It should be apparent-that this result is undesirable from an esthetic point of view but more importantly for purposes of optimum packaging and marketing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide for the foregoing desired features together with an improved and more efficient apparatus for slicing, weighing and grouping slices of food product particularly bacon in shingled form with significant reductions in give-away weights and labor costs.

A further object is to achieve a more uniform slice count per unit weight package, regardless of crosssectional size of the belly. Towards this end, slices are slightly thickened when produced from thin crosssectional size bellies and thinned when sliced from larger cross-sectional size bellies.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description which is to be taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the apparatus of the present invention for slicing, weighing and grouping sliced food product;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of an alternative embodiment of apparatus according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a top plan view thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION SLICING MACHINE The illustrated slicing machine 12 to which the mea suring segregating apparatus 10 is particularly applicable is one of a number usable in this invention. Thus, slicing machine 12 may assume the form disclosed in the aforementioned patents and may be the slicing machine available commercially under the Hydro-Matic Slicer which is fully disclosed in the operating instructions for the ANCO No. 827 or 827C Hydro-Matic Bacon Slicer, available from the manufacturer, the Allbright-Nell Company of Chicago, III. For this reason, the slicing machine 12 will not be described in detail and for a more complete explanation thereof, reference should'be made to the foregoing references.

Sufficient to say, the slicing machine 12 comprises a supporting table 14 having a platen or feed bed 16 over which the product, particularly bacon, shown at 18, is fed by a feeder or pusher 20 to the slicing blade 22. The bacon is sliced by the blade 22 and then discharged on to the measuring and segregating apparatus 10; Normally the forward or leading edge of the meat product 18' is pressed downwardly against the bed 16 so as to properly engage the blade 22. This may be accomplished by means of a spring pressure plate (not shown) suitably supported adjacent the blade '22. This blade is also encased in a housing (not shown) which serves to protect the operator and also prevents the particles of sliced product from being thrown outwardly from the blade by centrifugal force. In the identified commercially available slicing machines the blade 22 is rotary and is in the form of an eccentric or involute disc which revolves at relatively high speeds. The portion of the blade 22 having the greatest radius serves to slice the edge of the product 18, with the portion of the blade having a minimum radius providing clearance for the product to be fed outwardly thereby permitting the initiation of the next slicing cycle.

Product 18 is continuously fed forwardly by the pusher 20. The belly feed mechanism may be of the type disclosed in commonly assigned application entitled Improved Continuous Feed Bacon Slicer filed on even date herewith. When the pusher 20 feeds the product 18 forwardly at a relatively high rate of speed,

the thickness of the slices increases, and when it operates at a relatively low rate of speed the thickness of the slice is reduced.

The blade 22 is mounted at the end of a rotatable shaft 26 and this shaft in turn may be driven by mechanism of the type disclosed in the above patents. Reference should also be made to these references for a complete description of hydraulic circuitry normally associated with the slicing machine 12.

The pusher 20 is reciprocated by a hydraulic cylinder-piston assembly 28. This reciprocation is controlled by a motorized flow control valve 30 forming part of the hydraulic circuitry disclosed in the aforementioned references. In one position of this valve 30, the piston of the assembly 28 and consequently pusher 20 will shift to the left as viewed in FIG. 1 so as to feed the meat product 18 forwardly to be sliced by the blade 22. When the product 18. has been shifted to the leftso that all of it has been sliced, the piston of assembly 28 together with the pusher 20 are automatically retracted upon actuation of the valve 30 to a second retracted position and thereafter another feeding cycle is initiated.

A slice thickness control 31 is provided for increasing or decreasing the rate of travel of the pusher 20 to consequently increase and decrease the slice thickness, respectively. Slice thickness control is disclosed in detail in US. Pat. Nos. 3,099,304 granted July 30, 1963; 3,200,864 granted Aug. 17, 1965;and 3,204,676

Ser. No.1282,65l filed Aug. 22, 1972.

In orderto achieve a more uniform slice count per unit weight package, whether one half pound or pound, regardless of cross-sectional size of belly, an overriding slice-thickness. control may be imposed of the type commercially available under the name Slice- Master available from its supplier, Cashin Systems Corp. of Williston Park, N.Y. Systems of asimilar nature are disclosed in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos-2,642,910 granted June 23, 1953; 2,768,666 granted Oct. 30, 1956', 2,966,186 granted Dec. .27, 1960; 3,105,533 granted Oct. 1, 1963; 3,131,739 granted May 5, 1964 and 3,144,893 granted Aug. 18,1964.

tively. Under these circumstances the slice thickness control system 31 will be constantly striving to make a unit weight package whether a half pound or pound with a standard or preselected number of slices.

The measuring and segregating apparatus is granted Sept. 7, 1965, and pending patent application I adapted to receive the slices from the machine 12 and weight is compared to a standard representing the initial weight desired. It is this difference which is utilized to adjust the bacon weigherconveyor scale. The drafts arelplaced on a sheet of cardboard and thereafter per- 'mitted to pass if withinthe accepted weight tolerance or rejected if not. Towards this end, the measuring and segregating apparatus 10 includes a bacon weighing station 32, check weighi'ng'station 34, a cardboard dispensing station 36, a rejecting station 38, and a takeaway station 39.' v t I The bacon weighing station '32 is adapted to receive the slices from the slicing machine 12, arrange them in shingle form and, when a prescribed weight of product is reached, to momentarily stop the feed of the product 18 to the slicing blade 22 to segregate one group draft of shingle slices from the next. In this connection, the

leading end of a relatively high-speed weighing consent tothe valve 30 through the computer network 48 j to momentarily stop the operation of the assembly 28 and consequently pusher 20 which cooperates to feed the product 18 through the knife blade 22.

The conveyor 40 may be of the adjustable variety as disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,969,099'to accommodate one-half pound shingled units as well as one pound shingled units. In addition, the conveyor 40 may be of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,864 which travels at a low speed during the depositing of the slices thereon and at an increased speed after the weightis registered thereon by scale 42 to remove the'drafts therefrom in a minimum period of time. 3

As a result ofq'the impact of slices deposited on the surface of the conveyor 40 and the vibration incident thereto, it has been found that the weight of the segregated groups of slices asregistered by the scale 42 depart from the true and prescribed weight. I

At the check weighing station 34, a constantly driven conveyor 50-preferably travelingat the same speed as the increased speed of conveyor 40, receives the grouped, shingled slices traveling'on conveyor 40. A suitable sensing means such as a photoelectric detector assembly 52 actuates the scale 54 which registers the weight of the group of slices on conveyor 50. This registered weight if outside of the prescribed tolerance range will generate a signal" which is 'fed into the computer network 48 to the scale 42 which will then be adjusted to weigh more or less bacon depending on the direction of error; If the scale has traveling thereon a group of. slices that are underweight or. outside of the prescribed weight tolerance, a signal is generatedand transmitted to the reject station in order that this group may be diverted and the proper weight-made by attendent personnel. I

The correction signal derived from the check weigher scale 54 will be processed through the computer network 48 to the servo motor 56, the energization of which automatically changes the set point for the bacon weigher scale 42 to weigh more or less through any one of many conventional coupling arrangements, as for example, the mechanism which is employed for slice thickness control discussed in the above referenced U.S. Pat Nos. 3,099,304; 3,200,864; 3,204,676 and pending patent application Ser. No. 282,651. In this manner, the effects of vibration and other error causing elements are offset. Thus, the next bacon draft registered by the bacon weigher scale 42 will be heavy or light; depending on the direction of error detected by the check weigher 54. A switch 57 may be provided to simply have the scale conveyor 42 function as in the above referenced patents without any correction by the check weigher scale 54.

The automatic cardboard dispenser 36 is actuated when the shingled group of slices are detected by the detector 52 associated with check weigher 34. On the other hand, the dispenser 36 may be actuated by the mere act of weighing by scale 34. As disclosed in detail in U.S. Pat Nos. 3,405,504 granted Oct. 15, 1968 and 3,455,083 granted July 15, 1969, the detected group of slices is automatically deposited onto a card when this group is sensed traveling on the conveyor 50 by the detector 52. When this occurs, a card is pushed over a support into the pinchpoint of feed rollers following a suitable time delay. The rollers feed the card onto the conveyor 58 where the slices are discharged onto the card by the conveyor 50. Thereafter, another card is fed from a magazine and tucked into the pinch point of feed rollers which feed the card onto the support.

Should for any reason, a group of slices transferred to the conveyor 58 on a card be outside of the prescribed weight tolerance, a reject mechanism will divert this group in a manner disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,864. In this connection, a reject mechanism 60 is actuated bya suitably delayed-in-time signal emanating from the network 48 to divert the appropriate draft. An attendant or operator will then bring this group within the limits of proper weight. This adjusted weighed group, as well as the groups which fall within the prescribed weight tolerances, will be permitted to pass onto the take-away conveyor 39 to the appropriate packaging station.

Thus, in operation, a bacon slab or belly 18 or, for that matter, any other food product is fed into the slicing machine 12. The rate of feed of the product 18 is determined by the rate of advance of the pusher 20 which, in turn, determines the slice thickness. Towards this end, the slice thickness control 31' through the operation of the sensing levers 31a controls the rate of ad- 'vance of the pusher 20 in response to the crosssectional dimensions sensed. The rate of feed will increase as the cross-section of the belly decreases and vice versa to attain relatively uniform and standard number of slices per draft. The slices areplaced upon the moving conveyor 40 and, when the selected weight is reached, whether 1 pound or a half pound, as sensed by the scale 42, a signal is generated. This signal is transmitted to the network 48 and the flow control valve 30 is actuated to stop the feed pusher 20. After a predetermined interval, another slicing cycle is started. After the scale 42 senses the weight of the shingled group of slices on conveyor 40, the speed of the conveyor 40 is increased to remove the weighed group prior to the initiation of the following slicing cycle. The segregated group of slices is then deposited on the check weigh conveyor 50 supported by the scale 54 which may be similar to scale 42 but independent of it. When the group or sliced draft of bacon is totally on the conveyor 50', the photoelectric cell detector 52 is interrupted to initiate the weighing of this group by the scale 54 as well as operation of dispenser 36. If any departure exists between the weights measured by scale 54 and the intended or standard weight, a suitable signal is generated and transmitted from network 48 to the motor 56 to adjust the setting of scale 42. Should scale 54 register an underweight draft, scale 42 will be adjusted to detect weight'more than the prescribed weight so as to alter the weight of the package immediately following the one being weighed. If the weight of the draft check weighed is more than necessary, the scale 42 will be adjusted to register less than the prescribed weight. In other words the scale 42 will be adjusted to neutralize or offset the error detected by the scale 54 to bring the ensuing draft closer to the standard prescribed weight.

When the newly adjusted draft is sliced out completely onto the bacon weigh conveyor 42, the slicing action will stop and the bacon weigh conveyor 40 will immediately go into high speed (generally about twice as fastas the shingle speed) and rapidly transfer the sliced draft onto a check weigher scale conveyor 50. By means of various interlocks, this conveyor 50. may be made to run at the same speed as the bacon weigher scale conveyor 40, that is, when the bacon weigher conveyor 40 is running at shingle speeds, the conveyor 50 will run at shingle speed, and when the conveyor 40 is run at transfer speed, the conveyor 50 will likewise run at transfer speed. Through a suitable time delay or memory circuit, the signal of the scale 54 serves to trigger reject mechanism 60 associated with the conveyor 58 to permit the draft or group to pass onto the takeembodiment, like parts will be similarly numbered withan accompanying prime. Towards this end, a slice thickness controll 31' of the foregoing type utilizing the sensing levers 31a operates to assure a standard or predetermined number of slices per draft. Thus, as the product 18 is sliced by the blade 22 on the conveyor 40 the slices are accumulated in shingle fashion until the predetermined weight is reached. At this time, scale 42 sends a signal through network 48 to the valve 30, which operates to stop the operation of the pusher 20'. During this interval and as a result of the signal generated by the network 48, the conveyor 40 is stopped long enough to eliminate the effects of vibration, impact, etc. It has been found that approximately 20 milliseconds will under normal circumstances be sufficient. At this point, a second reading is taken by the scale 42. Ordinarily, this reading will be different from the earlier reading because of the outside extraneous influences. The second reading will be a truer weight reading which will be processed through the network 48' and compared'to a signal representing the standard weight; and the difference is utilized to adjust the setting of the scale 42' and consequently the point at which the feeding mechanism is stopped. Again, this same signal will be translated and suitably timed so that, when the package arrives at thereject mechanism 60, the appropriate decision to accept or reject will be made. The slicing cycle is started after the expiration of the predetermined stop interval during which the draft is weighed for the second time and transferred to the take-away conveyor 58'. During this transfer, the draft isplaced on a card by the automatic cardboard dispenser 36 coupledwith detector 52.

Thus the several aforenoted objects and advantages are most effectively attained. Although several somewhat preferredembodiments have been disclosed or described in detail herein, it should be understood that this invention is in no sense limited thereby and its scope is to be determined by that of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of:

a. a slicing machine having:

. a slicing blade;

feed mechanism for feeding products to be sliced into the blade;

first control means for determining the rate of advance of said feeding mechanism towards said slicing blade and, consequently, the sliced thickness, said first control means including sensing levers for sensing the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced whereupon as the cross-sectional size decreases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism increases to increase slice thickness and as the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced increases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism is decreased to thereby decrease slice thickness whereupon a more uniform number of slices of the product to be sliced in each segregated measured quantity is obtained; and

b.. apparatus for weighing the sliced products coming from the machine and separating them into segregated weighed quantities comprising:

receiving and conveying means for receiving the slicedproducts from the slicing machine;

second control means operatively connected to said feeding mechanism for interrupting the operation of the feeding mechanism for a sufficient period of time for the receiving and conveying means to operate to convey the sliced products away; I

weighing means operatively connected to the receiving and conveying means for causing the operation of the second control means when a predetermined weight of sliced product has been discharged onto the receiving and conveying means to interrupt the operation of the feeding mechanism;

said second control means including means automatically initiating the operation of the feeding-mechanism after it has been interrupted for a sufficient period of time for the predetermined weight of the sliced products'to be conveyed away;

a second receiving and conveying means for receiving the segregated, predetermined quantity of sliced products from the-first receiving and conveying means; j a v I third control means for adjusting the setting of the first weighing means; and

second weighing means operatively connected to the second receiving and conveying means forcausing the operationof the third control means when a predetermined quantity ofthe sliced products has been weighed by the second receiving and conveying means, said second weighing means feeding I back signals to the first weighing means corresponding to the weight of the predetermined quantity of the sliced products on the second receiving and conveying means over and below the prescribed weight to thereby automatically correct the weight-of the predetermined quantity of the sliced products weighed on'the first receiving and conveying means proportionately to the departure from the prescribed weight as registered by the sec- "ond weighing means. i

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1, wherein the apparatus for arranging products coming from the slicing machine into segregated weighed quantities includes a reject means for rejecting the predetermined quantities of sliced product that are outside prescribed weight tolerances; and a means coupling the reject means with the second weighing means to cause the reject means to be actuated to reject a group of products following registration of this group as outside the prescribed weight tolerance by said weighing means.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 2, wherein an automatic cardboard dispenser means is interposed between the trailing end of the second receiving and conveying meansand reject means for cooperating in placing the group of slices. on a card for subsequent packaging. I

4. The invention in accordance with claim 3, wherein means are provided for actuating the cardboard dispenser means upon detection of the group of slices by the second weighing means. 5. The invention in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first receiving and conveying means operates at low speeds when receiving the slices from'the blade and at a higher speed in transferring.

6. The combination of: a. a slicing machine having: a slicing blade; feed mechanism for feeding products to be sliced into the blade;

first control means for determining the rate of advance of said feeding mechanism towards said slic ing blade and, consequently, the sliced thickness, said first control means including sensing levers for sensing the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced whereupon as the cross-sectional size decreases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism increases to increase slice thickness and as the cross-sectional size of theproduct to be sliced increases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism is decreased to thereby decrease slice thickness whereupon a more uniform number of slices of the product to be sliced in each segregated measured quantity is obtained; and I b. apparatus for weighing the sliced products coming from the machine and separating them into segregated weighed quantities comprising: receiving and conveying means for receiving the sliced products from theslicing machine; second control means operatively connected to said feeding means for interrupting the operation of the feeding mechanism for a predetermined period of time; y weighing means operatively connected tothe receiving'and conveyingmeans'and causing'the operation of the second control means when the predetermined q'uantity'of the sliced products'has been discharged onto the slicing and conveying means tointerrupt the operation of the feeding mechanism;

' said second control means including means. for automatically stopping the operation of the receiving and the conveying means during the interruption of the operation ofith'e feeding'mechanism; the second control means being operatively connected to the weighing means for'automatically actuating the weighing means to weigh thepredetermined quantity of sliced products again during the stoppage of the receiving and conveying means, said second control means feeding back signals in response to the second weight registered by the weighing means corresponding to the weight of the predetermined group of slicesover or below the-prescribed weight for the group to thereby automatically adjust the setting of the weighing means to stop the feeding mechanism when the weight of the next group is above or below the prescribed weight by previous group from the prescribed weight.

tween the receiving and conveying means and reject anamount proportional to the departure of this 9 means for cooperating in placing the group of slices on a card for subsequent packaging.

9. The invention in accordance with claim 8, wherein means are provided for actuating the cardboard dispenser means upon detection of the group of slices by the second weighing means.

10. The invention in accordance with claim 6, wherein the first receiving and conveying means operates at low speeds when receiving the slices from the blade and at a higher speed in transferring.

11. The combination of:

a. a slicing machine:

having a slicing blade;

feed meahanism for feeding products to be sliced into the blade;

first control means for determining the rate of advance of said feeding mechanism towards said slicing blade and, consequently, the sliced thickness, said first control means including sensing levers for sensing the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced whereupon as the cross-sectional size decreases, the rate of advance ofjthe feeding mechanism increases to increase slice thickness and as the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced increases, the r'ate of-advance of the feeding mechanism is decreased to thereby decrease slice thickness whereupon a more uniform number of slices of the product to be sliced in each segregated measured quantity is obtained; and

b. apparatus for weighing the sliced products coming from the machine and separating them into segregated weighed quantities comprising: receiving and conveying means for receiving the sliced products; second control means for interrupting the operation of the feeding mechanism and to increase and de- 1 creasethe advance of the feeding mechanism and consequently increase and decrease the slice thickness;

means for initially weighing and registering the weight of the group of sliced products and actuating the second control means to interrupt the operation of the feeding mechanism, and means for registering the weight of this group a second time to actuate the second control means in response to the weight of the group over and below the prescribed weight for the group to thereby automatically adjust the setting of the weighing means to stop the feeding mechanism when the weight of the next group is above or below the prescribed weight by an amount proportional to the departure of this previous group from the prescribed weight.

12. The invention in accordance with claim 11, wherein the apparatus for arranging products coming from the slicing machine into segregated weighed quantities includes a reject means for rejecting the predetermined quantities of sliced product that are underweight; and a means coupling the reject means with the second weighing means to cause the reject means to be actuated to reject a predetermined group of products following registration of an underweight of this stack by said second weighing means.

13. The invention in accordance with claim 12, wherein a cardboard dispenser is at the trailing end of the receiving and conveying means for cooper'ating in placing the group of slices on a card for subsequent packaging.

14. The invention in accordance with claim 13, wherein means are provided for actuating the cardboard dispenser means upon detection of the group of slices by the second weighing means.

15. The invention in accordance with claim 11, wherein the first receiving and conveying means operates at low speeds when receiving the slices from the blade and at a higher speed in transferring.

16. The combination of:

a. a slicing machine:

having a slicing blade;

feed mechanism for feeding products to be sliced into the blade;

first control means for determining the rate of advance of said feeding mechanism towards said slicing blade and, consequently, the sliced thickness, said first control means including sensing levers for sensing the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced whereupon as the cross-sectional size decreases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism increases to increase slice thickness and as the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced increases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism is decreased to thereby decrease slice thick ness whereupon a more uniform number of slices of the product to be sliced in each segregated measured quantity is obtained; and

b. apparatus for weighing the sliced products coming y from the machine and separating them into segregated weighed quantities comprising:

receiving and conveying means for receiving the sliced products;

second control means for interrupting the operation of the feeding mechanism;

means for weighing and registering the weight of the group of sliced product and actuating the second control means to interrupt the operation of the feeding mechanism.

17. The invention in accordance with claim 16, wherein the apparatusfor arranging products coming from the slicing machine into segregated weighed quantities includes a reject means for rejecting the predetermined quantities of sliced products that are underweight; and a means coupling the reject means with the weighing means to cause the reject means to be actuated to reject a predetermined group of products following registration of an underweight of this stack by said weighing means.

18. The invention in accordance with claim 17,

wherein a cardboard dispenser is at the trailing end of the receiving and conveying means for cooperating in placing the group of slices on a card for subsequent packaging.

19. The invention in accordance with claim 18, wherein means are provided for actuating the cardboard dispenser means upon detection of the group of slices by the second weighing means.

20. The invention in accordance with claim 16, wherein the first receiving and conveying means operates at low speeds when receiving the slices from the blade and at a higher speed in transferring.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No- 3 846. 957 Dated November 12 4 1974 Inv nf fl William J. Divan It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Claim 2, Column 7, line 53, after "said" insert --se cond--.

Signed and sealed this 4th day of March 1975.

(SEAL) Attest:

- C. MARSHALL DANN RUTH C. MASON Commissioner of Patents At'testing Officer and Trademarks FORM PO-1050 (10-69) uscoMM-oc eos7e. if U.S. GOVERNMENY HUNTING OFFICE: "I! O-BGbSSl UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent 3,846,957 Dated November l2 -l974 Inv n fl William J. Divan It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Claim 2, Column 7, line 53, after "said" insert -second--.

Signed and sealed this 4th day of March 1975.

(SEAL) Attest:

C. MARSHALL DANN RUTH C. MASON Commissioner Of Patents At'testing Officer and Trademarks FORM PC4050 (10459) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 [1.5. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 3.-334 

1. The combination of: a. a slicing machine having: a slicing blade; feed mechanism for feeding products to be sliced into the blade; first control means for determining the rate of advance of said feeding mechanism towards said slicing blade and, consequently, the sliced thickness, said first control means including sensing levers for sensing the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced whereupon as the cross-sectional size decreases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism increases to increase slice thickness and as the crosssectional size of the product to be sliced increases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism is decreased to thereby decrease slice thickness whereupon a more uniform number of slices of the product to be sliced in each segregated measured quantity is obtained; and b. apparatus for weighing the sliced products coming from the machine and separating them into segregated weighed quantities comprising: receiving and conveying means for receiving the sliced products from the slicing machine; second control means operatively connected to said feeding mechanism for interrupting the operation of the feeding mechanism for a sufficient period of time for the receiving and conveying means to operate to convey the sliced products away; weighing means operatively connected to the receiving and conveying means for causing the operation of the second control means when a predetermined weight of sliced product has been discharged onto the receiving and conveying means to interrupt the operation of the feeding mechanism; said second control means including means automatically initiating the operation of the feeding mechanism after it has been interrupted for a sufficient period of time for the predetermined weight of the sliced products to be conveyed away; a second receiving and conveying means for receiving the segregated, predetermined quantity of sliced products from the first receiving and conveying means; third control means for adjusting the setting of the first weighing means; and second weighing means operatively connected to the second receiving and conveying means for causing the operation of the third control means when a predetermined quantity of the sliced products has been weighed by the second receiving and conveying means, said second weighing means feeding back signals to the first weighing means corresponding to the weight of the predetermined quantity of the sliced products on the second receiving and conveying means over and below the prescribed weight to thereby automatically correct the weight of the predetermined quantity of the sliced products weighed on the first receiving and conveying means proportionately to the departure from the prescribed weight as registered by the second weighing means.
 2. The invention in accordance with claim 1, wherein the apparatus for arranging products coming from the slicing machine into segregated weighed quantities includes a reject means for rejecting the predetermined quantities of sliced product that are outside prescribed weight tolerances; and a means coupling the reject means with the second weighing means to cause the reject means to be actuated to reject a group of products following registration of this group as outside the prescribed weight tolerance by said weighing means.
 3. The invention in accordance with claim 2, wherein an automatic cardboard dispenser means is interposed between the trailing end of the second receiving and conveying means and reject means for cooperating in placing the group of slices on a card for subsequent packaging.
 4. The invention in accordance with claim 3, wherein means are provided for actuating the cardboard dispenser means upon detection of the group of slices by the second weighing means.
 5. The invention in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first receiving and conveying means operates at low speeds when receiving the slices from the blade and at a higher speed in transferring.
 6. The combination of: a. a slicing machine having: a slicing blade; feed mechanism for feeding products to be sliced into the blade; first control means for determining the rate of advance of said feeding mechanism towards said slicing blade and, consequently, the sliced thickness, said first control means including sensing levers for sensing the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced whereupon as the cross-sectional size decreases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism increases to increase slice thickness and as the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced increases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism is decreased to thereby decrease slice thickness whereupon a more uniform number of slices of the product to be sliced in each segregated measured quantity is obtained; and b. apparatus for weighing the sliced products coming from the machine and separating them into segregated weighed quantities comprising: receiving and conveying means for receiving the sliced products from the slicing machine; second control means operatively connected to said feeding means for interrupting the operation of the feeding mechanism for a predetermined period of time; weighing means operatively connected to the receiving and conveying means and causing the operation of the second control means when the predetermined quantity of the sliced products has been discharged onto the slicing and conveying means to interrupt the operation of the feeding mechanism; said second control means including means for automatically stopping the operation of the receiving and the conveying means during the interruption of the operation of the feeding mechanism; the second control means being operatively connected to the weighing means for automatically actuating the weighing means to weigh the predetermined quantity of sliced products again during the stoppage of the receiving and conveying means, said second control means feeding back signals in response to the second weight registered by the weighing means corresponding to the weight of the predetermined group of slices over or below the prescribed weight for the group to thereby automatically adjust the setting of the weighing means to stop the feeding mechanism when the weight of the next group is above or below the prescribed weight by an amount proportional to the departure of this previous group from the prescribed weight.
 7. The invention in accordance with claim 6, wherein the apparatus for arranging products coming from the slicing machine into segregated weighed quantities includes a reject means for rejecting the predetermined quantities of sliced product that are underweight; and a means coupling the reject means with the weighing means to cause the reject means to be actuated to reject a group of products following registration of this group as underweight by said weighing means.
 8. The invention in accordance with claim 7 wherein an automatic cardboard dispenser is interposed between the receiving and conveying means and reject means for cooperating in placing the group of slices on a card for subsequent packaging.
 9. The invention in accordance with claim 8, wherein means are provided for actuating the cardboard dispenser means upon detection of the group of slices by the second weighing means.
 10. The invention in accordance with claim 6, wherein the first receiving and conveying means operates at low speeds when receiving the slices from the blade and at a higher speed in transferring.
 11. The combination of: a. a slicing machine: having a slicing blade; feed meahanism for feeding products to be sliced into the blade; first control means for determining the rate of advance of said feeding mechanism towards said slicing blade and, consequently, the sliced thickness, said first control means including sensing levers for sensing the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced whereupon as the cross-sectional size decreases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism increases to increase slice thickness and as the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced increases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism is decreased to thereby decrease slice thickness whereupon a more uniform number of slices of the product to be sliced in each segregated measured quantity is obtained; and b. apparatus for weighing the sliced products coming from the machine and separating them into segregated weighed quantities comprising: receiving and conveying means for receiving the sliced products; second control means for interrupting the operation of the feeding mechanism and to increase and decrease the advance of the feeding mechanism and consequently increase and decrease the slice thickness; means for initially weighing and registering the weight of the group of sliced products and actuating the second control means to interrupt the operation of the feeding mechanism, and means for registering the weight of this group a second time to actuate the second control means in response to the weight of the group over and below the prescribed weight for the group to thereby automatically adjust the setting of the weighing means to stop the feeding mechanism when the weight of the next group is above or below the prescribed weight by an amount proportional to the departure of this previous group from the prescribed weight.
 12. The invention in accordance with claim 11, wherein the apparatus for arranging products coming from the slicing machine into segregated weighed quantities includes a reject means for rejecting the predetermined quantities of sliced product that are underweight; and a means coupling the reject means with the second weighing means to cause the reject means to be actuated to reject a predetermined group of products following registration of an underweight of this stack by said second weighing means.
 13. The invention in accordance with claim 12, wherein a cardboard dispenser is at the trailing end of the receiving and conveying means for cooperating in placing the group of slices on a card for subsequent packaging.
 14. The invention in Accordance with claim 13, wherein means are provided for actuating the cardboard dispenser means upon detection of the group of slices by the second weighing means.
 15. The invention in accordance with claim 11, wherein the first receiving and conveying means operates at low speeds when receiving the slices from the blade and at a higher speed in transferring.
 16. The combination of: a. a slicing machine: having a slicing blade; feed mechanism for feeding products to be sliced into the blade; first control means for determining the rate of advance of said feeding mechanism towards said slicing blade and, consequently, the sliced thickness, said first control means including sensing levers for sensing the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced whereupon as the cross-sectional size decreases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism increases to increase slice thickness and as the cross-sectional size of the product to be sliced increases, the rate of advance of the feeding mechanism is decreased to thereby decrease slice thickness whereupon a more uniform number of slices of the product to be sliced in each segregated measured quantity is obtained; and b. apparatus for weighing the sliced products coming from the machine and separating them into segregated weighed quantities comprising: receiving and conveying means for receiving the sliced products; second control means for interrupting the operation of the feeding mechanism; means for weighing and registering the weight of the group of sliced product and actuating the second control means to interrupt the operation of the feeding mechanism.
 17. The invention in accordance with claim 16, wherein the apparatus for arranging products coming from the slicing machine into segregated weighed quantities includes a reject means for rejecting the predetermined quantities of sliced products that are underweight; and a means coupling the reject means with the weighing means to cause the reject means to be actuated to reject a predetermined group of products following registration of an underweight of this stack by said weighing means.
 18. The invention in accordance with claim 17, wherein a cardboard dispenser is at the trailing end of the receiving and conveying means for cooperating in placing the group of slices on a card for subsequent packaging.
 19. The invention in accordance with claim 18, wherein means are provided for actuating the cardboard dispenser means upon detection of the group of slices by the second weighing means.
 20. The invention in accordance with claim 16, wherein the first receiving and conveying means operates at low speeds when receiving the slices from the blade and at a higher speed in transferring. 